Pacquiao Retains Welterweight Belt

Manny Pacquiao keeps his WBO welterweight title belt after a majority decision over Juan Manuel Marquez, which drew an angry reaction from fans. ESPN says spectators from the sellout crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas threw cans and bottles at the ring while Pacquiao celebrated. But the champion didn’t seem to be phased.

“My fans are very happy because they thought I won,” Pacquiao said to ESPN.

The consensus pound-for-pound best in boxing beat the challenger Marquez for the second time. They first fought to a draw in 2004 and Pacquiao won a split decision in a 2008 rematch. CNN says in those fights, Marquez actually won more rounds than Pacquiao, yet didn’t beat him. After the most recent battle, Marquez was critical of the scoring.

“This was the second robbery and this one was the worst,” he told BBC Sports. “We won with clearer punches.”

CNN reports judges Dave Moretti (115-113) and Glenn Trowbridge (116-112) both scored the fight in Pacquiao’s favor. The other judge, Robert Hoyle, had the boxers even at 114-114.

“It’s hard when you’re fighting your rival and the three judges, too,” Marquez said to BBC Sports.

BBC described the fight as back and forth. Pacquiao controlled the early rounds and landed a big, two-punch combination to Marquez’s head in the fourth. Just a few rounds later, Marquez’s blows had Pacquiao bleeding from his mouth. The champion came out firing in the ninth and held off a late rally to win the decision.

“He was ready for my punches,” Pacquiao said to ESPN. “I thought I blocked a lot of his punches.”

ESPN says it was the 15^th straight win for Pacquiao, who improved his record to 54-3-2. Marquez falls to 52-6-1. Pacquiao takes home $22 million for the fight while Marquez gets $5 million.

Photo by roger_alcantara.